During normal refinery operation, many processes produce large amounts of normally gaseous olefins. These compounds are useful as feeds for many processes, but often, because of the very large scale of the typical commercial plant, there is too large a quantity of olefins to be handled efficiently. As new processes such as low pressure nonhydrogenative ZSM-5 dewaxing as well as nonhydrogenative silicalite dewaxing come into use, the increasing supply of the normally gaseous olefins produced by catalytic cracking can be expected to increase even more dramatically. As the amount of gas produced increases, more and more equipment must be dedicated to gas handling. Since gas handling equipment, especially compressors, is bulky and expensive, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing search for efficient and cost-effective ways of increasing gas handling capabilities, especially for olefinic gases.
I have discovered a process which quickly, easily, and efficiently converts normally gaseous olefins to highly desirable mid-range and high boiling range products. The process dramatically reduces the necessity of having expensive gas handling equipment, yet uses convenient processing conditions and easily obtainable catalysts. Further, surprisingly long run lives can be obtained under the operating conditions of the process and reaction exotherms can be easily controlled.